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HR Party of One is brought to you by BerniePortal.

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Look, I’ll be upfront: this is a scary topic.

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No HR pros want senior leadership to leave without warning, whether voluntary or involuntary.

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And weathering the procedural changes, expectations, conversations, rumors, and complicated feelings

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afterward is no easy task.

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But as an HR Party of One, we all know that there are times when the worst-case scenario

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is your reality.

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In 2023, a venture partner firm called OpenView suspended operations and laid off half its

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staff, including all vice presidents, after two senior leaders left unexpectedly.

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We don’t know if their HR team had a plan in place for their exit or how much they knew

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beforehand.

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What we do know is that whatever was in place was insufficient to avoid laying off half

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their workforce.

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As an HR professional at a small to midsized organization, the stakes are high if an executive

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or director leaves without warning.

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However, you can create a system within your chain of command so that someone’s departure

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doesn’t cause a critical system failure, like what happened with OpenView.

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In this episode of HR Party of One, let’s cover the worst-case scenario—and how you

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can prevent it.

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Let’s disucss: Why Do Leaders Leave?

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What Is Succession Planning?

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What Happens When Leaders Leave Unexpectedly?

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; and What Can HR Do to Navigate the Fallout?

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Let’s get started!

Why Do Leaders Leave?

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Why Do Leaders Leave?

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Leaders leave for the same reasons any other employee does, but sometimes it’s due to

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a changing bigger picture.

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A leader’s unexpected exit can follow a shift within an organization itself.

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If your company is experiencing rapid growth, a severe decline, or is changing direction,

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then a leader may no longer align with the company’s vision.

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It’s critically important for leaders to align with your company’s vision and mission

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and serve as an example to everyone else.

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When leaders fail to adapt, they show the rest of the workforce their discontent.

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This puts HR in a bit of a pickle because you want your workforce to remain vibrant—and

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a leader who no longer believes in the vision and mission isn’t just a culture-killer,

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but an obstacle to success.

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“Obstacle” sounds harsh.

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That’s because it IS harsh.

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It’s extremely difficult to come to terms with a senior leader’s exit, especially

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if it’s due to positive change.

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This may be someone who had a hand in hiring or training you and has been a wealth of experience

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and knowledge for years.

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But now, that exec is firmly attached to processes, methods, or the old way of doing things.

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That attachment prevents growth, potentially causing friction with teams and other leaders.

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Their exit is necessary.

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This is completely normal and offers room for growth and opportunity to others.

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Or alternatively, the chance to bring in someone with a fresh perspective.

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So we covered why they may leave—but what do you do when they leave?

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That’s always chaotic.

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But, did you hear: chaos is a ladder!

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There’s a structured ladder, like with a succession plan, and then there’s the rickety

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ladder salvaged from your childhood bunk bed.

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Maybe.

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Let’s start with the success plan ladder.

What Is Succession Planning?

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What Is Succession Planning?

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Leaders may leave voluntarily or involuntarily, but the issue remains the same: there is suddenly

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a vacuum where before, there was direction and experience.

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Succession planning is one way you can prepare to navigate the choppy wake of a senior leader’s

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exit.

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Succession planning is an organizational strategy implemented to pass leadership responsibilities

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down to another employee or group of employees.

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A succession plan ensures certain duties are passed to the next best person until that

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vacant position is filled.

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For example, a succession plan for a client relationship team may define how certain clients

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are transitioned seamlessly to other managers so service remains exemplary, even during

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times of change.

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I’ll link a previous episode that goes into more depth.

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Ideally, all major leadership positions have a succession plan in place.

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If someone goes on leave or has an unplanned absence, a succession plan can protect your

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organization from destabilizing.

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But if you don’t have a succession plan and a senior leader leaves unexpectedly, your

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organization may suffer the consequences.

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Let’s look at some examples.

What Happens When Leaders Leave Unexpectedly?

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What Happens When Leaders Leave Unexpectedly?

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If a senior leader leaves unexpectedly, and people are scrambling to figure out how to

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fulfill the duties of the role until a replacement is found, there are a few things you may notice

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immediately:

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A Rise in Miscommunications.

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If there is a break in the chain of communication, inevitably, messages get lost or go to the

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wrong place.

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If important memos are backlogged, projects may have setbacks, which results in missed

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deadlines or unclear next steps.

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That makes clients unhappy, and talented employees grow frustrated with the mess.

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A Culture Guide prevents many typical communication problems, but if you don’t have one available

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to employees in your HRIS, the problem remains.

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A Spike in Access Problems.

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Teams may lose access to important software or platforms that they need.

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If your Content Manager leaves, what account is in charge of their content management platform?

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Can anyone access all the things they need to without being an admin?

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When do certain subscriptions renew for content design software like Adobe?

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If people are asking these questions, then you have a big problem.

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A Decrease in Trust.

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When senior leaders leave, everyone else notices and wonders if it’s a bad sign for the company.

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If the exit is unexpected and sudden, someone will inevitably voice concerns to another,

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starting up potentially harmful rumors.

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And if there is no plan in place and the lack of direction leads to critical failures, your

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whole workforce will doubt the organization's future stability.

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Additionally, outside stakeholders, like clients, will question the swift departure of someone

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they have worked with for years.

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Reveal a Lack of Planning.

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Ask yourself: “Does every high-level leader in my org have documentation for every key

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process of their role?”

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If the answer is yes, great!

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More than likely, it’s no.

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When people leave, they take their knowledge with them.

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Even when you do have extensive documentation, there are unavoidable gaps that leave people

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trying to complete tasks with questions.

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Realistically, you can’t prevent knowledge hoarding, which is explained in depth in a

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resource I linked for you.

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But you can absolutely mitigate the chances of it majorly impacting your organization.

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These are all pretty negative.

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However, you should also look at these positives:

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Creates Room for Movement.

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Talented individuals in your organization can use this sudden vacuum as an opportunity

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to aim higher.

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Leaders leaving creates space for upward mobility; as some people move up, they create further

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spaces.

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Growth is a key indicator of success, so take advantage of this time to encourage others

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to develop their skills and aim for higher achievement.

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Allows Teams to Evolve Processes.

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This is a great time to take a frank look at how things are done and make some improvements.

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If there are processes or systems that old leadership held onto, evaluate if they will

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fit the new direction the team is taking.

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Some team members may have great insight or ideas to set about evolving the methods they

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currently use.

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Improving Opportunity for the Whole Workforce.

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Resituate your perspective and think not about how this is a change you must manage.

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This is a change you have the opportunity to deliver to your workforce.

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This moment can be strategically used to reaffirm your organization’s mission and vision,

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align other leaders with it, and establish greater employee trust.

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An HR checklist can help you avoid the negatives and look forward to the positives.

What Can HR Do to Navigate the Fallout?

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What Can HR Do to Navigate the Fallout?

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Before I dive into the checklist, I want to take a second to tell you something: When

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a senior leader leaves, it isn’t your fault.

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Their failure to adapt is not a failure on your part, even though it’s easy to feel

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that way.

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You want everyone in your organization, especially leadership, to drive growth and change.

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This circumstance is unfortunate, but it’s a natural consequence of your organization’s

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evolution.

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Reframe this situation by thinking of it as an opportunity for immense change and improvement.

Unexpected Departure Checklist

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Now, let’s check out a checklist to use when senior leaders depart without warning.

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Communicate the exit to other leaders.

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Gather those who are immediately impacted and inform them.

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State the facts and affirm that the departure was a mutual decision.

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It isn't HR's role to share all the insider details but to move the team forward.

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You might be thinking, “I’m next.”

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That isn’t your intention, but additional fallout isn’t a zero-possibility.

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Your goal is to move forward and assuring each person of something you cannot guarantee

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before all the cards fall could hold you back.

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Determine the most high-priority items that must be transitioned to others or changed

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in any way to stay on track.

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Consider certain programs, softwares, etc. that must be secured and given a new administrator.

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Identify an interim leader to direct current projects and oversee processes.

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This could be more than one person, depending on who can fulfill the role’s responsibilities.

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Communicate the new chain of command for the time being to everyone who is impacted.

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Meet with the interim one-on-one or with any other necessary parties to cover the major

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responsibilities, metrics for success and failure, and strategize a game plan.

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Converse with other organizational stakeholders to figure out the next steps when it comes

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to posting the open role and recruiting.

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Generate a timeline for recruiting someone new or transitioning the interim into the

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position permanently.

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Establish regular check-ins with the interim leader and their direct reports to ensure

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the work transition is seamless.

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Also, check in that the interim person isn’t hurtling headlong into burnout.

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Make sure their less important tasks are passed to others for the time being to help them

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manage their extra responsibilities.

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And finally ... Re-establish trust with the impacted employees.

Final Thoughts

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Checklists are a great way for HR pros to organize their thoughts and get to work immediately.

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BerniePortal lets you create custom checklists for onboarding and offboarding.

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Some checklists may be basic, but in cases like this, you need a more robust resource

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to keep your organization going and growing despite sudden changes in leadership.

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Also, BerniePortal makes the transition much simpler with our performance management feature.

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You can assign an interim leader admin access to 1:1 notes, so waste no time getting up

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to speed on their new direct reports’ most important projects and routines.

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The key to navigating a leader’s exit gracefully is to hit the ground running.

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BerniePortal makes that possible, which builds trust in your role and can mitigate rumors

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and intrigue by getting everyone to focus on the next steps.

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Nothing lasts forever, but you can structure untimely exits with forethought and intention

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to promote opportunities.

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As always, your role is as strategic as you make it!

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That’s it for this episode!

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Subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notifications about our newest episodes,

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which are released every Tuesday and Thursday!

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As always, thanks for watching.